c/camping-gear-reviews

Saw a guy using a cast iron skillet as a tent stake hammer at Big Sur last month

Why does nobody talk about how sleeping pads lose insulation over time?

An old timer at a campground in Montana told me last fall that my $80 foam pad was probably half as warm as when I bought it. I didn't believe him until I swapped it out for a new one on a cold night last week. The difference was huge, I actually slept through the whole night instead of waking up cold at 3am. Has anyone else noticed their pad losing R-value after a few years of use?

Rain flooded my tent at Yellowstone last August and I lost a sleeping bag

Woke up at 3am in a puddle because I didn't seal the seams on my cheap tent. Anyone got a recommendation for a dry bag that actually keeps water out for under $40?

PSA: My tent stakes went from solid to bent in one season after switching to titanium

Swapped to those lightweight titanium stakes last spring for a trip in the Smokies and after just 8 nights they bent like butter on the first rocky site, has anyone else noticed aluminum holds up way better for the weight?

Overheard a guy at REI talking about his tent footprint

I was browsing sleeping pads yesterday and this dude told his friend he uses a Polycryo window film instead of a $50 tent footprint. He said he's used the same $6 roll for 3 seasons now and just cuts a new piece when it wears out. Has anyone else tried this or am I crazy for still buying the overpriced branded footprints?

Just learned why my sleeping bag was cold on a 25 degree night in Colorado last winter

The $30 tarp I bought last spring leaked on my third trip - should I have spent more?

A guy at REI told me cheap tarps are fine if you pitch them right, but mine pooled water and tore at the grommets after two weekends. Did I just set it up wrong, or is he full of it and you really gotta pay $50+ for a decent one?

Spent 4 hours trying to set up a tent I'd used 20 times before

Last weekend I drove up to a spot near Asheville and it was already getting dark. I pulled out my old REI Half Dome and for the life of me couldn't get the pole sleeves to line up right. After wrestling with it for almost 4 hours in the dark I finally realized I had the tent flipped inside out. Has anyone else had a brain fart like that with gear you've used a hundred times?

Ditched my expensive sleeping pad for a foam one after one cold night

Spent $180 on an inflatable pad that sprung a leak at 2am near Moab. Picked up a $40 z-fold foam pad and slept way warmer the rest of the trip. Anyone else had better luck with the cheap foam pads?

That $80 sleeping pad I bought on Amazon is a total piece of junk

I bought this inflatable sleeping pad off Amazon for $80 back in June, took it on a 3-night trip to the Smokies, and the seam blew out on the second night. Woke up at 2am flat on the ground in 45 degree weather. Tried patching it with the included kit, but the material is so thin the patch just peeled off. Ended up sleeping in the car the last night. I emailed the seller and they offered me $5 back. Has anyone found a semi cheap sleeping pad that actually holds air for more than one trip?

TIL my tent weighs exactly 3.2 pounds less after I ditched the factory stakes

Weighed my whole setup before a trip to Shenandoah last month and swapping those heavy steel stakes for aluminum ones cut over 3 pounds. Anyone else ever weigh their gear piece by piece and get surprised?

Found a cheap trick for drying wet boots at camp

Last trip it rained for two straight days and my hiking boots were soaked through by morning. I tried stuffing them with newspaper but they were still wet the next night. Then I remembered an old trick a ranger told me: warm up some clean river rocks by the fire, wrap them in a towel, and stick them inside the boots. Did that for about 2 hours and they were mostly dry by bedtime. It's not perfect but way better than walking in soggy shoes. Anyone else got a weird camp hack that actually works?

I finally tried tarp camping instead of a tent on my last trip

Honestly, I got sick of lugging my 6-pound tent up hills in the Smokies last fall. So I grabbed a cheap 8x10 tarp and some paracord, figured I'd save weight. Worked great until a storm rolled in at 3am and I realized my pitch was terrible at keeping rain off my bag. Now I'm debating: is the weight savings worth the hassle of learning proper tarp setups, or should I just stick with my tent? Anyone else made the switch and stuck with it?

That time a ranger told me my tent stakes were junk

Last summer at Yellowstone a ranger walked by my site and said 'those 6 inch stakes won't hold in this soil' and he was right. I swapped to 10 inch shepherds hooks and my tent actually stayed put during a 30 mph gust last week.

Bought a cheap $40 sleeping bag off Amazon and froze my butt off at 45 degrees in Yosemite last fall.

I figured a budget bag would be fine for mild weather but the insulation was basically paper thin and I ended up shivering all night. Has anyone else had a bad experience with budget sleeping bags failing when you need them most?

The difference new tent stakes made on my last trip to Shenandoah

Tbh I used the same cheap aluminum stakes that came with my tent for like 4 years. Last month I grabbed a set of MSR Groundhogs before heading out to Shenandoah. The first night we had steady wind and my old stakes would have popped out by morning, but these held solid all night. Has anyone else had a big upgrade from just swapping out stakes or am I late to the party?

Can we talk about buying a cheap tent versus spending more?

I bought a $60 tent from a big box store last summer for a weekend trip up near Lake Tahoe. First night had a light drizzle and water was seeping through the floor by morning. My buddy had a $250 tent from a outdoor brand and stayed bone dry the whole time. Now I'm wondering if you really need to spend that much or if I just picked a bad cheap one. What's your experience with budget tents holding up in real weather?

Split on the whole ultralight vs. comfort debate after a guy at Eagle Lake told me his tent weighed 12 ounces

He bragged about saving 3 pounds but said he spent every rainy night curled up shivering, while my bulky setup kept me dry and warm. So which camp are you in, do you cut weight or cut the misery?

Took me 6 camping trips to figure out my tent was pitched wrong

I kept waking up with a soaked sleeping bag after what I thought was normal condensation. Then a ranger at Shenandoah pointed out my rainfly was pulled too tight against the tent walls. He said I needed a gap for air to flow and moisture to escape. I felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner. Has anybody else missed something that obvious with their gear?

That guy at REI who told me to ditch my inflatable pad

Met this older dude at the REI in Denver. He swore my Therm-a-Rest was junk for cold weather. Said get a closed foam pad. I laughed it off. Night one in Moab at 28 degrees I was shivering all night. Switched to a Z Lite pad the next trip. Slept fine. Anyone else had a foam pad save their sleep?

Had to ditch my fancy camp stove after that trip to Big Bend

Wind there was no joke, my little canister stove couldn't even boil a cup of water. Switched to a liquid fuel setup and now I actually check weather reports before picking gear. Anyone else have a spot that forced you to change your whole cooking setup?

I wasted $120 on a fancy ultralight camp stove and it sucked

I bought that popular high end titanium camp stove everyone on here swears by. Cost me $120 and it couldn't boil water in under 10 minutes on a calm day. My old $30 cheap stove from Walmart does it in 4 minutes flat. The thing is, it's so lightweight the wind knocks it over every time unless you find a perfect flat rock. Tried using a windscreen but it's not recommended for safety reasons with that canister design. Ended up selling it for half what I paid on Facebook marketplace last week. Has anyone else had better luck with those ultralight stoves or is it all hype?

Shoutout to the guy who talked me into a $12 camp trowel instead of the $50 ultralight one

I spent three trips digging cat holes with a flimsy plastic thing because I thought I needed to save every gram, then a random hiker at the trailhead handed me his cheap steel trowel and told me to try it. How long did it take you to realize spending more on backpacking gear doesn't always mean you're getting something better?

Can we talk about how many cheap sleeping bags lie about their temp rating?

I bought a $50 bag from a big box store last winter that said it was good to 20 degrees. First night out near Lake Tahoe it dropped to like 35 and I froze my butt off. Turns out a lot of those ratings are just survival temps not comfort temps, which honestly feels like a scam. I talked to a guy at a local gear shop and he showed me the EN rating system they use on better brands. Now I check for that little tag before I buy anything. My next bag cost twice as much but it actually keeps me warm when the weather gets bad. Has anyone else gotten tricked by those fake ratings?

Just hit 40 nights in my tent this year and didn't expect it to feel that heavy

I mean, I knew I was camping a lot this season, but when I counted up the nights last weekend I was at 40 exactly. That's more than a full month sleeping on the ground in a three season tent from REI. What surprised me was how much my old sleeping pad started mattering after night 30. Has anyone else hit a random number like that and realized their gear just doesn't hold up the same way?